Multi-modal Transportation in Wisconsin July 11, 2020 WISDOM Summer of Solidarity Series
ESTHER PRESENTERS Connie Kanitz Jill Smith John Levine GUEST PRESENTERS Joyce Ellwanger, Milwaukee Kathi Zoern, Wausau
Overview of our time together today . . . Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT) A Brief History of Transportation Some Wisconsin Stories: MICAH--Milwaukee, NAOMI-Wausau Trends in Transportation--How is it changing? State Transportation Funding and Impacts on Communities CMRT webinar video clip on Highway Expansions’ impact on Transit COVID-19 Impacts on Transit Call to action for transportation improvements
• Coalition for More Responsible Transportation (CMRT) is an network of 25 + organizations who advocate for multi-modal transportation in Wisconsin Sierra Club-John Muir Group, WISDOM affiliates, 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, WISPIRG, Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance, Amalgamated Transit Union, and others. • CMRT provides a vision for what is possible • Transportation for the future depends on residents pressing for a shared vision. • Look at the next example for vision and imagining our future . . .
CMRT Vision statement • Residents of Wisconsin deserve an effective, convenient and clean transportation system that connects everyone to the places they want and need to go. • Our communities should be connected with safe walking and biking infrastructure, good roads, and a robust public transit system. • Provide a range of transportation options for everyone. • Include everyone in planning and decision-making • Redesign our Communities • Focus on investments that will benefit all Wisconsinites
A Glimpse at Early American Transportation • The United States had trains, streetcars, trolleys, buses • Department of Commerce was driving force for breaking apart a multi-modal transportation infrastructure • Department of Transportation changed the infrastructure to support the model for commerce after World War II (resulting in a car dominant culture)
History of Social Inequity Regarding Transportation ● 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott ○ Protest against segregated bus services ○ Despite the Plessy vs. Ferguson court decision banning railroad cars ○ Post-World War II transportation policies have had inequitable impacts on land use patterns. ( Arrive Together , pg. 10) ● Cross-Bronx Expressway construction project ○ displaced 60,000 people ○ South Bronx lost 600,000 manufacturing jobs ○ per capita income dropped to one half the city average
Social Inequity Cont. ● More construction projects in the 1970s and 1980s ○ displaced urban residents ○ disrupted urban communities ● President Clinton’s 1994 executive order ○ mandated that environmental justice must be a part of every federal agency’s mission ○ directed these agencies to develop plans that identified and addressed disproportionately high and adverse human and environmental effects of its programs, polls and activities on minority and low-income populations. (Arrive Together,pg.10)
Milwaukee’s 2012 Zoo Interchange Project Petition ● An example of the 1994 mandate ● MICAH and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin filed suit ● Joyce Ellwanger will speak more about concerns and actions of MICAH and other transportation advocates regarding Milwaukee I-43 and I-94 highway expansion project and outcomes.
MICAH’s Story of Milwaukee/Waukesha: Joyce Ellwanger Photo credit: Urban Milwaukee
Naomi’s story of Wausau transit: Kathi Zoern Photo Credit: Wausau transit website
Break Out Groups Talk with each other about some of your concerns about transit.
How is transit changing?
Transit connects workers to jobs; residents to medical appointments, school, shopping, leisure, and community interaction.
More Seniors Will Be Riding Transit People over age 65 are the fastest-growing demographic in the state. ( Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Joint Committee on Finance, Long Term Care Expansion Report December 2013 ) • •
Wisconsin’s Growth Rate of People Over 65 Between 2015 and 2040, the population ages 65 and older will grow by 640,000 people an increase of 72%. This expected growth rate is also reflected in the projected increases in dementia prevalence. (DHS.Wisconsin.gov Population Demographics, Sep 26, 2019)
DHS.Wisconsin.gov Population Demographics, Sep 26, 2019
College Graduates Prefer Transit ➢ Robust transit systems can help attract and retain young, college-educated talent for Wisconsin (WISPIRG Foundation, Driving Wisconsin’s Brain Drain?, 2014) ➢ Multi-modal transportation Photo Credit: WISPIRG Foundation, Millenials on the Move Report, 2016
State Funding for Public Transportation:
Misplaced Spending Priorities Hurt Local Communities • Big-ticket highway spending has skyrocketed. 50% increase between 1998 and 2013. • Public transportation has long been underfunded. Cut by 10% in 2011, with 6% restored in the following budget. • Local roads are deteriorating. State assistance declined by 30% between 1998 and 2013. One in three roads are rated as “poor or worse.” (1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Local Road Crisis, 2015)
Highway Expansions Impact Transit Funds
CMRT webinar, May 28, 2020 (recording available) How Highway Expansions Undermine Public Transit, Walking and Biking Beth Osborne Beth is the Director of Transportation for America. She was previously at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy since 2009. Transportation for America is an advocacy organization made up of local, regional and state leaders who envision a transportation system that safely, affordably and conveniently connects people of all means and ability to jobs, services, and opportunity through multiple modes of travel.
Congestion Should Not Be Sole Indicator for Making Highway Decisions Building Boondoggles: How Highway Expansions Undermine Public Transit, Walking and Biking (CMRT webinar, May 28, 2020; featuring Beth Osborne/Transportation for America)
Transportation for America Policy Objectives, Beth Osborne • Update 100 year old approach to land use, cluster development, focus on infill, design for people • Connect people to jobs and services • Require transportation agencies to stop favoring new roads over maintenance. • Make short trips walkable and making them safe. • Remove restrictions on pricing to manage driving demand.
National COVID-19 Impacts on Transit A study of nine communities and their transit systems across the country finds: (Securing Safe Transit issue brief, June 2020) ● A top concern is health and safety ● Modified service protocols ● New use habits
• Microcosm: Fox Cities Valley Transit Authority Changes • • No reduction in routes/ride • fare • Requested “essential rides” only during Safer at Home Order • Ridership down • Social distancing and increased sanitization • Free mask for those that want one • The Safer at Home Order ending has pressured transit, but ridership has only Photo Credit: The Dream Corps, #SafeTransit Pledge Campaign, 2020 increased a little.
Transit Changes During and Post Covid-19 • Unique time for transit • Need to be intentional while transportation habits are in flux at a large scale •
Upcoming Transit Equity Town Hall: Mobility, Race and the Economy 1 PM July 16th RSVP with link The Dream Corps, #SafeTransit Pledge Campaign, 2020 Speakers Lateefah Simon - BART Board of Directors and President of Akonadi Foundation Joshua Malloy - Community Organizer with Pittsburghers for Public Transit Samuel Jordan - Founder at Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition Sandra Padilla - Lead on the Transit Service Planning team at San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Ways to Improve Public Transportation • Invest in public transportation for better access to work, school, and services. • Clear the way for more regional transportation collaboration • A “Fix it First” approach to roads and bridges • A moratorium on new highway expansion projects
Call to Action The "Zombie Highway" Returns - take action to voice opposition After a decade of fighting the I-94 expansion project (and winning!), Gov. Evers announced his intentions to revive the project. Tell the Evers Administration not to move forward on a project that is proven to be harmful and offers no solutions to the real transportation issues our communities are facing. Add your name and comments to the Petition regarding I 94 Expansion on sierra club website addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/accessibleequitabletransportation
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